What Might Have Been
by LadyVixen
Summary: Short story of what might have happened between April and Chris. Takes place on Mt. Olympus (between books VI and VII).


I couldn't go to sleep. Despite the humongous mansion-sized mass of cloud material that they called a bed, and despite the fact that since I first came to this hell-hole-of-a-world I hadn't had one decent nights rest and this may be my last chance to catch some desperately needed z's, I just could not get myself to pass into that wonderful limbo of blackness and rest that was otherwise known as sleep. Then again, even if I did manage to fall asleep, its not like I'd really be sleeping. I'd just be back in the "real world" doing whatever "real-world" April does on a regular basis. It had been so long since I first landed in Everworld, that my "real" self was beginning to feel like someone completely different from me. And I could easily bet you I would never have thought a sentence like that would come out of my mouth.  
  
Because of my utter restlessness I slowly crawled out of my quadruple-king sized bed and into the hallway. Hey, maybe, just maybe, someone else in our little entourage would still be awake, I thought. And maybe pigs would fly.  
  
Stumbling in the dark hallway, I came to the nearest doorknob and slowly cracked open the door just a tiny bit to peak inside. I saw Chris (yes, I know, Chris, of all people) quietly standing next to the 20-foot window looking out over Olympus.  
  
"Hey" I whispered. I guess my earlier efforts in being quiet worked, because Chris gasped in fright and hurriedly walked over to the door.  
  
"God, you scared the crap out of me, woman!" he hissed, while roughly pulling me by my elbow into the room and closing the door behind him.  
  
"Gosh, you don't have to be so rough with me! And though it may seem hard to believe, I actually do have a name and I don't necessarily appreciate-"  
  
"Shhhhhh, don't you ever shut up?"  
  
"Well, excuse me-"  
  
"Be quiet and look here!" Still grabbing onto my elbow, he dragged me to the window where I finally saw what had enraptured him so much previously.  
  
About 50-feet below on a marble ledge jutting out of the rocky cliffs of Mount Olympus, a huge bonfire glowed and the minor god Dionysus sat near it, being fondled, caressed, and generally drooled over by a giggling group of scantily-clad nymphs frolicking about all over him. And of course, a party, especially one with Dionysus, just wouldn't be a party without the gallons and gallons of wine spilling out of glasses and into full stomachs. I mean, he is the god of wine, party, and all that good stuff. Overall, it was a strange, yet somewhat comforting sight to see.  
  
"I guess you should put Peeping Tom under your list of credentials, after Racist Jerk and Woman Abuser no less." My elbow still slightly ached, despite my continual rubbing.  
  
"Sorry 'bout that. But lets face it, you do have a tendency to start babbling incoherently when you're pissed.or just when you're in the presence of a beautiful and sexy male specimen such as myself."  
  
"Please" I couldn't help snorting. He smiled against the warm, far off glow of the bonfire and slowly turned from the scene below, walking over to the nearby bed.  
  
"So, why aren't you asleep?" I proceeded to inquire.  
  
"Please, have you heard the ruckus from the keg party over there?" he jabbed his thumb in the direction of the noise. "These Olympians certainly are the 24-hour party people. They're worse than me!" I couldn't help smiling at Chris' wry sense of humor. Or just at his ego.  
  
He patted the space next to him on the bed, motioning for me to sit down next to him. "What are you doing up?"  
  
"I don't really know. You'd expect that I'd be able to go to sleep since we've finally found ourselves someplace decent to stay at, for the time- being anyway, but I just can't." He nodded understandingly at my comment, like he could relate.  
  
"Maybe its just cuz I don't really feel like going back to the real-world right now. I mean.." I turned to face him suddenly "don't you ever feel like we're somehow becoming more and more distant from our real world self? Almost like we're two completely different people?"  
  
He contemplated my question for a second, thinking intensely "Yeah, but I guess its because we're experiencing so many different things from our real- world selves. So of course, eventually we would be pretty different, these experiences shaping who we are and how we think. Cuz our real-world selves know what's happening here, but they don't experience it like we do.get it?"  
  
I was trying to process all that Chris had just said. Him being so philosophical and actually having something intelligent to say isn't always a regular occurrence, at least not around me.  
  
"Yeah, I guess it makes sense when you explain it that way." I smiled at him. "You truly amaze me sometimes, Chris."  
  
"Yeah right" he bounced onto his back and proceeded to stare at the towering ceiling above "Please. I'm just an annoying creep who comes from one incredibly screwed up family, and is probably screwed up himself."  
  
"Excuse me? If you don't happen to remember, Senna is my half-sister, not yours!" I pointed out to him as I eased myself onto my back as well.  
  
"Oh yeah, almost forgot about that. Well then, I guess we're both fucked." I couldn't help laughing, not only because it was a typical Chris statement, but also because it was so true. Chris seemed to think the same thing, because he soon joined in.  
  
"Shhhh." I tried to suppress my giggles. "People are still sleeping, we might wake 'em up. And by the way," I turned to look at him, "you're not a creep. Well, maybe not all the time."  
  
He turned over to me. "Oh, just admit it, I am. I'm aaaa creeeeeep!" Oh no, he's starting to sing Radiohead now, I couldn't help thinking to myself. And singing it rather loudly, I might add. Though I couldn't stop myself from laughing, I knew in the back of my mind he really needed to keep it down.  
  
"I'm aaa weirdoooooooooooo."  
  
"Chris, you really need-"  
  
"What the hell am I doing heeeeeeeere?"  
  
"-to shut up before we wake someone!"  
  
"I don't be-"  
  
I quickly covered his mouth with my hand before another word could come out. "Chris, really."  
  
And that's when the horrible thing happened. I can't really pinpoint what it was that exactly started it in the first place. Maybe it was our close proximity to each other, my hand on his mouth, I don't know. But suddenly I noticed how very blue his eyes were. I couldn't pry my eyes away from his. And I noticed how soft his lips felt against my callous skin. I guess the moment affected him too, because he finally stopped singing, even after my hand slowly slipped away from his mouth. He gently cupped my cheek with his hand and leaned his lips into mine. And I couldn't stop myself from kissing him back. And damn, was he a good kisser. I felt shivers up and down my spine, and as it grew into a deeper kiss, I never wanted it to stop.  
  
But an alarm went off in my head. I knew I shouldn't be doing this; this was the last thing I needed to get myself into. With a moan I pushed him away from me and sat up. I had no idea what had just happened, but I knew it wasn't good.  
  
"What's wrong?" He sat up next to me.  
  
"What's wrong, Chris, what's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong, this is wrong! We can't be doing this; we can't get involved with each other, not now. There's just too much going on right now, I mean, we're in freaking Everworld for crying out loud. It's all just."  
  
"Just what?"  
  
"It's just too-"  
  
"Weird." We had both said it at the same time. We looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.  
  
"Yeah, this is a little too much Twilight Zone for me." he pointed out.  
  
"Well, maybe not Twilight Zone. More like Days of Our Lives or something."  
  
"Oh no, it's Twilight Zone."  
  
"No its not. It wouldn't be that weird if you hooked up with me, would it?" I asked.  
  
He gave me a look, one of his "Chris" looks. "Look sweetheart, I'm the funny, witty, incredibly drool-worthy comedian jokester guy. If anyone needs a laugh, hey, I'm there. While you. you're a drama chick, very artsy and bohemian and whatnot. Sorry babe, but we just come from two different worlds, you and I." I couldn't help rolling my eyes while he gently put his arm around me. "Now, hows about I walk you over to your room so you can get some sleep. For Christ's sake, I can't stay up for you all the time you know!"  
  
"Okay" I sighed, while he guided me out of his room and into mine. 


End file.
